Discovery: Aida Becheanu

In the spring of 2015, Romanian-raised, Paris-based model Aida Becheanu met famed fashion photographer David Sims on a shoot for Arena Homme. Sims was immediately taken with Becheanu, and soon shot her for Hillier Bartley’s debut advertising campaign. In August, just before the SS 2016 show season, when Becheanu would dip her toes in the runway world at the likes of Thomas Tait, Osman, Diesel Black Gold, and Tory Burch, we captured Becheanu and her boyfriend Jordan around the streets of Paris.

AGE: 22COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: I grew up in Romania. It was kind of fashionable in that I was playing with clothes every day, having presentations all day long with my cousins.DID YOU GROW UP READING MAGAZINES? I grew up collecting magazines, but I didn’t want to be a model.WERE YOU ALWAYS TALL? DID YOUR HEIGHT SET UP APART FROM YOUR PEERS? I’m still small! [laughs]DISCOVERY: I discovered myself taking selfshots at the age of 16. After two years, I signed with Mandarina Models in Romania.FIRST SHOOT: My first shoot was with the French photographer Tess Feuilhade.DREAM CAMPAIGN: I don’t have a dream campaign or runway show, but I would love to work with dream people.STYLE ICON: My style icon is Gia Carangi.PERSONAL STYLE: My sense of style is somewhere between silk, cashmere, leather, and wool.